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预约 (yù yuē) — to make an appointment, to book (a service, medical appointment, etc.)

Definition

Use 预约 specifically for booking a service or slot (doctor, visa, restaurant). 约 is a casual 'arrange to meet' (a person); 预订 is for ordering/reserving goods like tickets or hotel rooms.

verb
to make an appointmentto book (a service, medical appointment, etc.)

Examples

  • 预约。
    Wǒ xiǎng yù yuē yí xià yī shēng.
    I'd like to make an appointment with the doctor.
  • 预约？
    Nǐ yù yuē hǎo shí jiān le ma?
    Have you scheduled the appointment time?
  • 预约。
    Tā míng tiān yào qù yù yuē qiān zhèng.
    He needs to schedule an appointment for his visa tomorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

预yùin advance
约yuēarrange

预 means beforehand and 约 means agree or arrange; together they express booking in advance.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 預; 预 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ預yù
Same sound today

The traditional form 預 combines 予 for the sound and 頁 for the meaning; the simplified 预 is a later shorthand.

Open 预 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →
Appears in
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